The 22-year-old paceman might still get the flak for the Zimbabwe debacle, but his efforts in Kenya that ended with a flourish at Nairobi's Gymkhana ground on Tuesday would certainly heal some of the wounds.

For a change, the combative tearaway, instead of sharing the new ball, came to bowl at number four in the third and final one-dayer against the hosts yesterday. And it brought the best out of him. His staggering figures of 6-26 in the allotted 10 overs that shot the Kenyans out for 118 was not only his personal best but also the best achievement by a Bangladeshi bowler in the abridged version of the game.

His six-wicket burst that completed the whitewash of the East African nation earned him a unique milestone.

The "Narail Express" was the only third Bangladeshi bowler to achieve the feat of taking five or more wickets after Aftab Ahmed's 5-31 against New Zealand in 2004 at Dhaka and Mohammad Rafique's 5-47 against these opponents at the Fatullah Stadium earlier this year.

Mashrafee's Tuesday's effort also capped a fantastic turnaround after he had flown in Kenya a week ago with his reputation as the leading Bangladesh bowler at stake following that unforgettable last-over debacle in the third ODI in Zimbabwe.

Just to show how funny the game is, Mashrafee, who took only five wickets in the first part of the African safari, finished the Kenya series with a staggering 12 wickets including three each in the first two games.

Not only he took the man-of-the-match awards in all three games in Kenya, but had scored an unbeaten 43 in the second game to salvage the game.

"Yes, the performance provided some sort of consolation for the debacle in Zimbabwe but actually I am looking forward to our next assignment which is the ICC Champions Trophy in India," said Mashrafee at the post-match presentation ceremony.

Stand-in skipper Khaled Mashud also showered praises on his number one bowler.

"He is a very vital player of the team. It was good to see him back to his belligerent best in Kenya after dismal showings in Zimbabwe," said Mashud.

Mashrafee also won the man-of-the-series award.

Coming in as a changed bowler for the second successive match, the right-arm paceman used the overcast conditions brilliantly. The veteran of 41 ODIs, started the carnage by trapping Malhar Patel leg before and also accounted for the prized scalp of Kenyan skipper Steve Tikolo on way to his career-best figures.

His previous best was 4-41 against Zimbabwe in the first match of the five-ODI series and the latest effort placed him 24th on the elite list of all-time ODI best bowling.